A Squire's Bulwark (Hadrian)

[Dimitri]

"Or how about he fights with his Patron Knight?" A deep voice boomed toward the two. Ser Adamaal Brinkass was walking over, shield and gladius in hand. "And you there," looking at Hadrian, "If I recall correctly, you are quite useful to the knights for reasons above my paygrade. However, I do know you are versed in some... More arcane aspects of combat. Would you care to use these gifts of yours on my squire here during our training bout? Should make things a bit more interesting, wouldn't you say? Well boy, prepare to defend yourself."

Dimitri was at first shocked his patron, who often left notes than trained him directly, was here about to assist his training. And knew who Hadrian was. As far as Dimitri could figure out Hadrian was magical and of use to the Knights. Dimitri crouched into position. His left leg was a bit wider than his shoulder, and was up ahead behind his shield. His right leg was back, serving as both a balance and a booster. His sword was pointed down and away, a growing favorite starter of his. He held his tower shield out in front, raised and steady.

Ser Adamaal was in a quite relaxed stance. His held arm rest at his side, his sword hung loosely in his hand. He smiled as his squire entered a stance well founded for aggressive action and defensive measures. Ser Adamaal charged fiercely toward Dimitri swinging his blade upwards, attempting to strike him on the underside of his chin.

Dimitri saw the incredibly fast attack and normally would have blocked with his own sword. However he knew at that speed his own sword would be thrown from his hands. Dimitri instead took a half step backwards and angled his shield face downward. The gladius struck the Shielding, which flared a very deep crimson. Ser Adamaal didn't pull his blade away however. "Disappointing squire." He then swung his shield up and into Dimitri's torso. Dimitri was knocked a few feet back and landed on his back hard. "Don't treat me as a greater enemy. All enemies are equals. I saw you almost stop me with your sword. Don't disappoint me again."

[Hadrian]

Hadrian half-bowed to the Knight come calling. He didn't recognize the knight, and he had not asked Dimitri the name of his patorn knight, nor even which regiment was his. To Hadrian's mind, the Order was one entity, even if he knew better and that they were in fact a motley group of men and women thrown together behind an ideal. "As you wish, ser," he said, and stepped back to watch the fight. While they prepared, he Fluxed energy to all the important parts of his body in case he saw an opening to impress another knight of worth. At the same time, he watched them with his Auristics, getting hints of actions before they occurred. He had little time, so he let Shield energy accumulate around his left hand while he focused his right hand into the Symenestra claw model he had learned from studying Vizyous' hand. The last was easy enough now that he knew how to do it and had practiced, so he focused on the Shield energy and felt it slide up over his arm almost to the shoulder. He was fairly certain that it would soften the blow of a gladius, protecting him from the edge and a broken bone, though he would bruise rather badly. And the Knight would pull such a blow if he saw it aimed at an unarmed magus in the Order's employ. All the same, his preparations were silent as he watched the quick exchange. When came a pause, he shot toward Ser Adamaal faster than a crossbow quarrel, speed and strength greatly enhanced by his Flux. But there was no strike; he merely threw his Shielded arm around the man's shoulder from behind and held his claws up to the soft part of his neck. "His shield, you noticed, was protected. Perhaps I should Shield his sword as well?" He wondered if that would prevent a disarming or if he would have to learn to modify his shields to absorb shock as well block it. Or perhaps his Shields would grow strong enough one day that a full-strength blow from a sword would merely make a pink! against them, feeling lighter than a raindrop on skin. "Don't worry," he continued, stepping back slowly. "I wouldn't hurt a Knight."

[Dimitri]

Ser Adamaal was relaxed as Hadrian performed his little stunt. He was lucky the Knight was both skilled enough to realize what Hadrian was doing, and tolerable enough not to at least berate him about it. "No. He needs to increase the strength of a sword arm, and will do so by competing against a stronger arm. While I appreciate his assistance in your project, his training mustn't be marred by a reliance on magic. No shielding on his sword will be required." He then raised his sword tip beneath the transformed arm and lifted it off his shoulder. The man made a comment about not hurting a Knight. Ser Adamaal chuckled, "You may use your spare shielding for your tongue, spewing such absurdities. Now let us continue." Ser Adamaal charged toward Dimitri once more sword in a stab at the gut.

Dimitri watched the awkward exchange of words between the two. He prepared himself, and not a moment too soon as his patron came at him. The sword was in a stab at the gut. Dimitri reacted by bringing his sword up by his left ear then slashing downward. This drove the invading gladius down in the dirt while his own blade continued up the length of the sword. He slashed at his master's midsection. His master chuckled, a signal of praise for his squire. He stopped the assault on the edge of his shield, and used his embedded blade, after pulling it out, to slash at his Squire's ankle. He was sure to use the nonbladed side, as he lifted his Squire's leg from beneath him. Dimitri felt his world give out as he ended up on his back. He reacted by rolling quickly as a shield slammed at where he had been. He rose to a kneeling position, waiting for an attack from either of them.

[Hadrian]

"Of course," he said, stepping back. "You are the expert." It didn't do to upset a knight, and he didn't want Dimitri to catch hell for Hadrian's audacity. Anyway, Hadrian could only come up with ideas. The Knights were the experts in tactics and warfare. The Fluxed energy quickly dissipated from his limbs. He was no expert there, capable of only quick bursts of speed and strength, and its use wearied him beyond measure. He also let go of the Shield encasing his left arm, let the Morph of his right hand fade back into his more mundane appendage. Hadrian observed rather than participate. His own strategy had been shown. No warrior, he had to rely on tricks and cunning, for his power wore out all too soon. But quietly, he prepared a pool of res in one hand, gently growing in size. He didn't see the point of attacking Dimitri, who was obviously the less seasoned warrior, but a distracting jet of water could distract the master, giving the student an opportunity.

[Dimitri]

Ser Adamaal swung his shield hard at the kneeling Dimitri. Dimitri rose to a slight crouch, planting his right foot behind him. He brought up his own shield, and. The two collided into each other with a deafening boom. The shock of the collision jarred Dimitri's arm and shoulder and he actually slid backwards a few inches, his legs straining to keep himself upright. Dimitri followed with a slash starting at his lower right leg and arcing upwards to his master's right shoulder. His attack was knocked high by an upwards parry of his master's blade. The parry turned into a downward slash at Dimitri's right shoulder. Dimitri raised his shield to glance the blade, only to get punched in the side by his master's shield. He could tell his master punched hard enough to throw him off balance, and not break his ribs. Dimitri stumbled to his side a couple of steps, attempting to catch his wind.

Ser Adamaal shouted at Hadrian, "Boy, you going to throw some magic at my squire or what? He needs the training."

Ser Adamaal saw a fire in his squire's eyes. The boy knew he couldn't win but would go out a beaten mass before giving up. This boy would make a fine Knight, and it was up to him to mould the boy into a force Syliras could use for it's own good. He would push the boy to the edge, beat him down, but the boy always learned, always came back stronger. His squire surprised him by going on the offense instead of defending. He noticed the boy tended to favor leading with his shield. Not a bad tactic but the shield worked better as a reaction, not a starter. He had to get the boy to open with his sword. He adjusted his stance so his own shield was positioned forward but his body was not sideways to enjoy a higher field of protection but rather in line with the shield. The shield only protected the left half of his torso.

Dimitri rushed forward leading with his shield. He then saw his master change stances. This change forced him to pull his shield back and stab forward with his blade, twisting it to help prevent a simple parry.

[Hadrian]

Hadrian stifled a sigh, wondering at this Ser Adamaal and his training methods, but while employed by the knights, he thought it the better part of caution to do as he was told, even if he wasn't some squire or servant. While observing the attack and defense, thrust and parry, and the visceral nastiness of it, he continued to collect the res he would use as more of a distraction and impediment. Hopefully Dimitri wouldn't sustain too much damage. Hadrian rather preferred having the Knights (and their squires) as allies than enemies. When the squire twisted, Hadrian flicked his wrist, will adding momentum to his water bomb as long as it was within his limited sphere of influences, the water crashing into Dimitri's nearest foot, threatening his balance and turning the grit below him into more perilous mud.

[Dimitri]

The twisting stab was knocked aside by an effortless parry by Ser Adamal. The Knight returned with an angled shield slam, aiming the bottom lip of his shield at his Squire's thigh. With the force he put into it, it would severely bruise and cramp the boy's thigh essentially hobbling him for the fight. He left his sword arm open by doing a side ways chop at the boy's ribs. Dimitri reacted by stepping his right leg back away from the attacking shield. He turned his shield to block the oncoming sword. But as his foot stepped back to plant, he slipped in a confusingly damp spot in the field. His foot began sliding back, so Dimitri dropped down to that knee to keep his body planted. Master Adamal's blade struck the shield, flaring red, and glanced away. He slammed his shield down at the young squire. Dimitri caught it with the hilt guard of his sword, his arm jarring hard. He rose to a crouch and took a step backwards.

"Better watch your surroundings better boy."

Master Adamal was pleased however as Dimitri recovered splendidly from his mishap and gained a decent position. Master Adamal stabbed low to the center of Dimitri's torso, while pulling his own shield back defensively. Dimitri seized an unexpected opportunity and knocked to sword lower to the earth with his shield. The blade sank deep into the muddy spot Dimitri had slipped in. This threw Adamal's balance forward. Dimitri took the opportunity to score his first possible blow against his patron Knight. Dimitri slashed low at Adamal's left leg while punching toward his sword arm's shoulder.

[Hadrian]

As Hadrian observed, he tried to understand the tactics involved. There were hints in the auras of both warriors as to their intentions, but Hadrian wasn't sure he would have the reflexes to respond unless he were better equipped to use his Flux. And yet his lack of skill in that arena was due mostly to his lack of desire to fight. Originally, he was interested in gaining mastery over the flows of djed within his body for health reasons and to better control his power reserves, but there was the added benefit of being able to escape dangerous situations and occasionally surprise people, as he had Ser Adamal. All the same, he was pleased that his hydromancy had distracted Dimitri, but he was also, equally interested in how Dimitri turned the mud to his advantage. Hadrian might be able to use that someday, he thought, wondering the best way to use his magic to create quicksand. He would have to study the phenomenon when he could get his hands on a proper book. But it occurred to him finally to try a different tack, albeit not his most practiced. But one of the simplest manifestations of Hypnotism was to force eye contact, and it was an important one too, because some of the greater manipulations apparently required extended eye contact while the victim remained in a trance. At least, according to some sources. There was always a counterargument to the standing theory. So Hadrian gathered up his will, trying to force the djed out of his eyes, out of himself and into Dimitri, as if his aura were changing the colors and textures of the squire's. Of a sudden, his hooks as firmly in Dimitri as he could get them with his lack of expertise, he yanked. "Look!" he whispered.

[Dimitri]

Dimitri's arms stopped mid-swing. He felt drawn to look at something. He didn't know why he was thinking this. He was in combat after all, anything else was nothing until he was done. He started to look in the direction of Hadrian. Master Adamal took the time to extricate his sword from the earth and regain his composure. He could see the odd interrupt in his squire's behavior so he waited on his attack. He looked back at the Mage boy. He appeared locked into some sort of magic with his squire. He figured it would be better for the boy to experience this and possibly over come it rather than breaking it with a simple swinging weapon.

Dimitri locked eyes on Hadrian. Why was he doing this? Master Adamal would find him open. It was clearly some magic he'd not experienced yet. He couldn't physically break the gaze. A thought coursed through his mind telling him to look. Dimitri struggled to pull away, a feat not achieved. He then tried to simply shut his eyes. This also didn't work. His eyes began to dry out, the itching beginning to irritate him. The desire to blink was strong, so Dimitri took that thought and emboldened it. As his eyes continued to dry, his body took over his mind, and he blinked.

The simple act broke the foreign connection. He shook his head and turned to see Adamal smiling at him. "You did well boy. As did you young man," addressing Hadrian. Ser Adamal patted Dimitri on the head. "You almost got your first hit. One day young one. Let's call it a day."

Dimitri nodded, slightly drained. He bowed to Ser Adamal, then walked over to Hadrian and bowed as well. "Thank you for the help with training. What was that last thing you did? It was very strange."

Master Adamal smiled at his young squire. That boy would surely make a fine knight.

OOCOne more post should do it, then turn into Archon's office

[Hadrian]

Hadrian bowed in the Syliran manner to the knight for his attention and compliment. He never thought he would be so complimented in a combat arena, but he supposed it was as good a place as any to practice martial pursuits with his magics. The compliment elicited a slight flush of pleasure that he tried to quell by force of will. But he was quickly rubbing his temples, knowing he would have to eat, drink, and sleep sooner rather than later. Those disciplines in which he remained a novice were more difficult to use, especially with little preparation or notice. "Thank you, ser," he said, and to Dimitri: "The last was something I learned in Alvadas, but I'm not very good at it. I suppose if it had been real combat, though, it would have been enough to allow Ser to open your veins. I'm not really comfortable with it, though, because... well, I suppose all power comes with the threat of corruption, but controlling people with my mind? I don't know. "I should go eat something and take a nap," he said apologetically. "We could... we should do this again sometime, perhaps?"

END